Gowan's 1/72scale projects and crazy ideas

The projects and ideas I have altered and helped by you

This blog is designed to give the viewer more to do than just read, look and comment. I have made it so that you can comment and help me with my projects and influence and help realize my ideas. Do not be shy come on and help me create a mini world

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Now you may be wondering why I posted a picture of the sky. Well it's because many of the projects I am going to talk about are up in the air right now with only a few concrete ones.

So let's start with what is going on now and what I will continue in 2017
1. Is the construction of a Gunboat based off a drawing I found. It's coming along well and should be done relatively soon.
2. Oronegrean Militia! Getting close to completing these figures. No command figures for them yet. But for now any well dressed and dashing character will do.
3. Comrade Pirates. Now I really try and avoid bringing up my political beliefs here. So I hope you'll let me have this one moment of exposure. I'm a member of a socialist organisation and I decided to paint up some pirate figures for the other members of our branch. This project is always behind as new members join and I need a few more female pirates. So this one won't really be completed this year.
4. Oronegrean Civilians. Again 18th century. I want to get a few painted up. Will be useful for raids by native tribes. (See below)
5. Project: Sanctuary Lanes. This is something that needs a whole lot of lore fleshed out for it. The idea is of refugees coming to Oronegro in secret. The first people for this are from Japan (figure wise not lore wise) I have some Samurai and Ninga for this. Lore will follow later for this project.
6. Other figures. Plenty of random figures in various stages of completion. Some only primed. Some based. Others with paint. Look out for some new enemies for Oronegro.

Now what about projects I am about to start or have got the ground work ready for.
1. A fluyt this will be an interesting build with multiple decks making construction a challenge.
2. Natives of Oronegro! Finally some interesting things. I dug up an old set of Hät Thracians, some partially painted but without primer (oh how I've learned). Anyway black paint and PVA base and I'll paint up some. I have a few being "test" painted right now to see if this idea will work. Instead of steel weapons they'll have copper and bronze (more fitting for the Americas)

Projects in planning. Or projects Gowan thinks he can do but probably shouldn't or can't do this year!
1. A Junk! This is related to project: sanctuary lanes. (Spanish name pending) this will be an interesting and exotic addition to my flotilla. A merchant vessel of reasonable size it will play the role of target in games with the pirates.
2. ONE SHIP TO RULE THEM ALL! After the Junk I probably will stop making large model ships. (Because at that point all the bookshelves and window sills at my parents place will be occupied and we'll have to move to attic storage.) But before I close down my large shipyard I want to have one last hurrah! A frigate with two decks, based off various designs incorporating all my experience and skills. This is a dream project, one that's probably not even going to start this year. But in the world of planning 5 years is considered a short period of time so this is definitely a near future project!
3. Catamaran. In contrast to the big ships I also plan to build a small vessel. Catamarans did not really take off in the West until the late 19th century but in Oronegro this can be different. Because of their speed this vessel can have many uses.

So is that all? No probably not. In all reality I will let these projects be put on hold and try a few others.
Oh and as always if you have any figures you want to get rid of please let me know. I might be able to give them a good home. ;-)

Monday, December 19, 2016

Well now that I have completed la Estefanía the number of boats in my collection has well and truly doubled! But, why stop at doubling my collection? And as I have been making boats according to what some of my friends and family have been requesting I have one more to do. This one is.... odd. I offered to make my friend a pirate ship. In my mind I was going to make a little Fluyt. But then he turned around and asked for a Greek/Roman warship! And so it began...

This thing is very small for a rowed ship. so I'll give it some serious sail power to compensate

I'll add armour plates to the front. To protect it against cannon fire once it goes in for a ram.

The book in the background is Patrick O'Brian's HMS Surprise, an appropriate book to be reading!

I'll probably use oars (forgot the term for them) rather than a rudder on this one.

Well there you have it. My strangest boat yet. Lots to do yet but it'll be a fun one once it's done. Also if you know where I can get Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey & Maturin series cheaply I'll be very thankful. I have books 1-3 then 8. So I need to get 4-7 or else number 8 will be sitting on my shelf tempting me to skip ahead.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

So given that I just completed El San Francisco it is time to begin on the next round of ships. I have figures on the way too but while I am at my family's house I will make the most of having access to my materials to make ships, buildings and other larger things.

One ship complete... onto the next one.

So what to do? Well there are a couple of other ships that I was working on:

4 of the six are compete. The top left and top right are yet to be done.

These ships are a small dhow and a pirate cutter crossed with a Greco-Roman warship. But these are relatively small projects and so I can think about what to do next. And for this I will look east, Far East.

A junk. But junk it certainly is not

Turns out it is rather hard to get a good set of boat plans for East Asian ships, or at least I am not that good at finding them. Anyway I have managed to download me some plans. I have three documents that allow me to build ships from the following countries.

China: I have a plan (as part of a longer document) for a sea going junk used for trade. A larger project but certainly an interesting.

Japan: I have got the plans for a Japanese Warship what were held by the French Maritime Museum. An interesting design but slightly harder to use given the fact the writing is hard to read and in French (which I can't read).

Vietnam: Compiled during the Vietnam War I have a large document full of junk and sampan designs (this was to help the US identify potential smugglers - but it is very handy for me). Many of the ships and boats are quite small and so wouldn't be that diffucult a project.

Anyway I'd be keen to hear what you have to say about these potential projects. If there is one you'd like to see, any tips you have and if you know of some plans that I could use. Also don't be afraid to let me know of some completely different boats that I could do. :-)

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Well the name says it all. after two years of not buying figs I went on a bit of a spree in the last few days getting all sorts of figs for the 18th century Oronegrean project. Most of these figs will arrive in the coming weeks but I thought I'd give you all a preview of what will be coming and what will eventually be painted up.

Lets start with my latest purchases. IMEX Pioneers and Pilgrims.

These two sets will give Oronegro it's civilian population as well as a few militia figures for good measure. Mainly I got them for their civilian aspect so that I may bring Oronegro to life. (they'll also make good victims in a raid).

Next up let's look at some pirates. These guys will crew the Abigail and eventually the other pirate ships I small be building (the rude joke is planned and in construction). These guys are from Orion although I hope one day to get other pirate figures perhaps some Marz or LW ones if I feel in need of removing flash.

Arrr me hearties.

The remaining figures are from Caesar and need a bit of explanation. First we have the conquistador set. This is the most obvious as it clearly relates to Oronegro's founding. In addition these guys could be specialist troops for later periods who deal with native troops and therefore generally need armour. They could be used in other ways too. All they need is a story behind them.

A useful set and one I have wanted for a very long time.

Now things get plain odd. First up is a set of Caesar's Ninja and Samurai. Now before you leave this page going "He's lost it" bare with me. Oronegro is known to be founded by European and to a minor extent North African outcasts. As Oronegro grew in power it spread it's often clandestine influence across the globe trying to take in outcasts from elsewhere. Therefore during the Sengoku Period in Japan some Samurai outcasts and Ninja took their chances and made the Journey to Oronegro. The Ninja's skills were quickly recognised and were asked to train a new Oronegrean unit - Los Angeles Negros. I'll clear up the story later.

These guys will fit in to Oronegro or I am not as mad as I say I am

Finally a little speciality set. Caesar's Journey to the West set. My sister say me looking at this one and asked me to get it. So I obliged. This one is special set and perhaps it represents a little parade group for a festival celebration in La Ley. So perhaps there is a small group of settlers from the far east living in Oronegro.

These guys are going to be fun to paint.

Well that's all for now. I'd love your ideas for what some of these figures could be. And if you have any suggestions for what I should get next. Perhaps I need to explore what to do to expand Oronegro's armed forces.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Well here is a little update on the ship I am building as you can see I have done mast placement, rudder and the prow. The masts have not been glued in. That is so I can remove them plater so I don't poke my eyes out. Just a small update but it means only a few parts of the structure remain and I can soon move onto cladding it in planking.

Being white makes it hard to get good photographs of the ship due to the light but here she is.

The string was just to hold the prow in place as it glued. Will be removed soon

.

Again lighting is a pain but you get the overall shape with this one.

And the rear cabin and rudder here almost done apart from the roof.

Well that's it for this post. I'll do the next one once I have moved into planking it. By that point I'll be covered in PVA glue and regretting ever getting into this hobby.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Here are a few pics of the latest project I am working on. The first of this years model ships. This is El San Francisco. It is larger than the river boats I made but smaller than the Abigail. The aim is to make a more interesting vessel by having an accessible cabin area with a removable roof. In addition this model will have similar planking to the Abigail to increase the level of detail. So far the model is rather simple but it is just work in progress. :-)

This shot is the set up I used last night to hold the gluing parts together.

made with anything to hand, offcuts, string and a handy glue tube the set up worked quite well.

Oh and that mess in the background is my workbench. :-P

This is the result I found this morning. Not bad eh?

It's not perfectly symmetrical but good enough, It'll look good once done.

I have since added the front and rear walls of the cabin so these WIP shots are already out of date

Once again an overhead shot of a boat captures one of my feet. I really must be careful with that.

Well that's it for now guys. More to follow. And to you all have a good day/night. :-)

Friday, January 1, 2016

"Capt. we need to double the size of the fleet!" Well it's pretty self explanatory isn't it. I currently have 4 boats (3 river boats, 1 sloop) and my goal for this year will be to end the year with 8. But what shall those boats be? I don't want to make more small ones, at least not many. So if the current ratio is 3 small to one big let these new models be 1 small 3 big!

maybe this is a little over-ambitious?

El Francisco / San Francisco:

The final of my small boats. Named for long time follower, the angry lurker himself Francis Lee. Pirate vessel? Trader? Naval ship? or Fishing boat? I'll let the man himself decide. I already have a hull ready and prepared for this one so it shouldn't take too long once I get my materials together.

The hull appears to be similar to those for the ships I already made, perhaps a little bigger.

La Tigre:

This one is going to be big, perhaps a sixth rate or trading vessel? Named after my Aunt Hillary (her nickname is Tig/Tigger from Winnie the Poo). This vessel will join the Abigail as the pride of my model fleet until an even bigger one comes along. :-)

I might make one a little smaller than this, around the 43cm (17in) mark.

St Michael:

Named for a man with whom I have traded many figures. A fine Fluyt for my Dutch friend. This vessel will not be as large as La Tigre but more complex with removable decks to allow figures to go at multiple levels. I will try to use my snapping shut method for these but it will take more time to do.

These are beautiful ships, the lines are very nice.

El Santiago:

Finally a really big one, for if I get through the others in one year (a very ambitious aim). This one is named for yours' truly or rather the Spanish version of my middle name (my vanity can only go so far). I'm planning a fifth rate for this one! 1 1/2 to 2 decks with lots of gun ports for the full broadside experience. I have no clue where we are going to store this model but it will be the pride of my fleet.

Pirates better beware of this mighty ship!

Will these be all the ships I make? NO of course not! Will this actually take me a year? Right now I am erring towards longer (I don't have much time at home to build them). Can I have a ship named after me? Why yes, if you ask nicely. Being a subscriber for my blog(s) does help. Can you build me a ship? Well probably not, all my work takes an indefinite amount of time (no fixed times) and I haven't yet designed a model which can be taken apart and put back together for transport (wouldn't be able to mail it). But if you could pick it up perhaps, but only if we play a game with them first (I need a ruleset, may need to make one).

Anyway model ships are the pride of my collection and I want to build more. If you ever stumble across some nice plans or juicy informative pictures of some fine vessels please send them my way. But apart from the obvious needing to get on with them (and a mountain of figures) that is all for these vessels for now.

have a good day/night!

P.S. if anyone sees that set of Hät Marines and sailors for sale let me know. They'd make good crew men.

About Me

born early 1995 I lived for the first 10 years of my life in England land of my birth, but then aged 10 I moved to NZ where I have lived since. at an early age I was diognosed with ADHD, Dislexia, dispraxcia and ASD I may not be good socialy or good at sport but when it comes to mad ideas and creativity I am unsurpassed. currently my love of the language of spanish is great and my passion for models is mighty. but life must go on, so I created a blog to show the world what a mad guy with little time can achieve.